Thread guide



R. MAIER THREAD GUIDE Aug. 18, 1959 INVENTOR Roberfi Mzzz'er Filed April24, 1957 United States Patent THREAD GUIDE Robert Maier, Esslingen(Neckar), Germany, assignor to American Feldmnehle Corporation, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Application April 24, 1957, SerialNo. 654,822

1 Claim. 01. 242-453 This invention relates to winding machine tensionsand similar thread guides in the textile industry. More particularly,the invention relates to novel winding ma chine tensions havingdetachable wear members.

Tension devices such as winding machine tensions, pigtails and othertypes of guides have long been used in'the textile industry forspinning, winding or twisting thread, or in similar processes. Thesetension devices have not been long-lived due to the fact that the threadwhich is drawn through a wash board tension will in time out into thewearing surface of the winding machine tension due to constant rubbingof the thread. In recent times the use of synthetic fibers has beenparticularly destructive of the tensioning devices owning to theirsevere cutting action. The synthetic fibers are frequently filled with apigment, often referred to as a delustrant, which may be titaniumdioxide, for white fibers, and carbon black, for black fibers. Thepigment filler has. a highly abrasive effect on the tension devices. Theabrasive effect roughens the surface on which the fiber runs, which, inturn, tends to inflict damage on the fiber as it passes over the roughsurface.

In the usual tension devices the wearing of the gripping surfaces makesit necessary to repair or to discard the entire tension device atregular intervals. In such cases it is necessary to close down themachine in order to replace the winder, thereby creating a wastage ofmaterial as well as a curtailment in production due to the shutdown.

There has long been a need in the textile industry for long-livedtension devices. Attempts have been made to increase the period ofusefulness of the devices by constructing them of materials moreresistant to wear. However, these devices have not really solved theproblem. Another attempt involves the use of detachable wear members tocover the surfaces over which the thread is drawn or otherwise comesinto contact therewith. Turcotte in Patent No. 2,480,344 discloses atension device having detachable wear members. The tension device ofthis invention is an improvement over previously known tension deviceshaving detachable wear members.

The detachable wear members have been found to be particularly usefulsince they may be replaced when they become cut by the thread,consequently eliminating the necessity of replacing the complete device.However, the textile industry up to now does not have available a devicehaving detachable wear members which are extremely long-lived. In otherwords, the industry has met the problem to some extent but has notsolved the problem of obtaining a longer useful life from the detachablewear members.

Another problem in the use of detachable wear members has been found inconnection with attaching the wear members to the device. The wearmembers are not large so that the problem of fashioning a suitable wearmember that can be easily attached and detached has not been solved.Further, the wear members are subjected to shocks of various sortssothat the members N ICC must be held securely. This has furtherenhanced the ditficulty for providing a suitable tension device.

Accordingly, this invention relates to a winding machine tension andsimilar washboard [guides having'detachable members which have a long,useful life and are easily replaceable on the device. The device issimilar to the usual winding machine tension device of the washboardtype, comprising a plurality of tension bars and detachable wearingmembers. The detachable members are mounted in the tension bars by meansof a dovetail projection on the underside of the wearing member whichfits into slots in the tension bars. The detachable wearing members maybe made of any suitable material that will be resistant to the cuttingaction of the filamentary material. Materials which are useful in thepractice of the invention are hard metals, ceramics, and a preferredembodiment is to employ high purity sintered aluminum oxide. The use ofsinteredaluminum oxide is particularly advantageous since it isconsiderably harder than any convention metal surface.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novelthread guide which imparts a tension to filamentary material passedtherethrough.

- It is a further object of the present invention to provide detachablewear members for tension devices with wearing surfaces that come incontact with the filamentary material that can be quickly andefficiently attached to the remainder of the tension device.

- It is another object of the present invention to provide athread guidehaving means through which detachable wear members can be quickly andefficiently detached.

' It is yet another object of the present invention to providedetachable Wear members for tension devices and similar thread guidesthat have a long, useful life.

Additional objects, if not specifically set forth herein, will bereadily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription of the invention.

The tension device of the invention is more fully shown in theaccompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one type of winding machine tensioningdevice to which the detachable wear members are applied.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view as taken on the lines 22 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view as taken on the lines 3-3 of Figure2.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view as taken on the lines 4-4 of Figure3.

Referring to the drawings, the tension device as indicated by thenumeral 10 consists of a plurality of tension bars 11 and detachablewearing member 12. over which the thread is drawn and are arranged inrows.

When these winding machine tension bars are in operation, the threadwill eventually cut into the surface thereof and therefore in place ofreplacing the entire winder tension, the tension bars are provided withdetachable wearing members 12 having dovetails 13 along the undersidewhich are arranged to slide into slot 14. Slot 14 is restricted in aportion thereof by projections 15 and 16, which are appurtenant to oneend of the dovetail portion of the wearing member.

In order to attach the wearing member, the slot in the tension bar isfirst widened by means of some suitable tool and then the dovetailportion of the wearing member is inserted into the slot. When thewearing member has been inserted to a point just beyond the projections,the slot is permitted to resume its normal position. One end of thedovetail section is appurtenant the end of the slot while the other endis appurtenant the projection. There is therefore no danger of anyslippage of the wearing members after they have been placed in the $10of the tension bars.

In order to detach the wearing member, the slot is again expanded bysuitable means. The Wearing member is removed by sliding it through theslot and out of the tension bars.

By employing the tension device of this invention, it will be noted thatwhen one or more of the wearing members are scarred by the filamentarymaterials, all that is necessary to be done is to simply replace thedamaged wearing members with new wearing members. There is, therefore,an avoidance of time-consuming delays which would ordinarily occur dueto the cessation of the machine utilizing these winder tensions.Additionally, the necessity of replacing the complete winder tensiondevice with a new tension device is eliminated.

The inserts have raised portions 17 and 18 which are adapted to preventthe filamentary material from slipping out of the tension device. Thereis a fiat area between the projections which represents the surface overwhich the filamentary material is drawn.

The use of detachable wearing members made of high purity aluminum oxideis a feature of this invention. Sintered aluminum oxide having a purityof higher than 95% has a hardness which is particularly useful in thatdetachable wearing members manufactured from it are extremelylong-lived.

The tension device of this invention provides wearing surface materialswhich cannot readily be employed in the structure of the tension device.In other Words, such materials as ceramics and aluminum oxide can beused to provide the surface over which the filamentary materials pass,however, the body or supporting structure is preferably made out of suchrelatively flexible materials as metals, because ceramics are relativelyeasily damaged by mechanical shock. Metals can also be more cheaplyformed into tension devices than the materials used herein as Wearingmembers, particularly sintered aluminum oxide.

It will, therefore, be seen from the foregoing that it is unnecessary tohalt the machine in order to replace the tension device. It is onlynecessary to replace one or more small parts in the form of thedetachable members, and then immediately put the machine back intooperation. Thereby operating time is increased, operating costs arereduced and total production is increased.

It will be apparent that many changes and modifications of the severalfeatures of the tension device described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is, therefore,to be understood that the foregoing description is by way ofillustration of the invention rather than limitation thereon.

What is claimed is:

In a tensioning thread guide assembly for textile machinery, a guide andtensioning device comprising one set of spaced parallel thread guidesupports, a second set of thread guide supports positioned over and inofiset relation to said first set whereby said thread guide supports arein staggered clamping relationship, said sup ports having transverseslots formed therein, Wear members consisting of aluminum oxide barsformed with a convex cross-sectionon one side to engage the thread andon the opposite side with a projecting dovetail portion to engage and besupported in said slots, each slot having a bar-Supporting portion andan adjacent slot portion tapered toward said bar-supporting portion tofacilitate theinsertion and removal of said bars.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

